The Bullet:

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a settlement with the Rust-Oleum Corporation to address alleged violations of hazardous waste regulations at its paint manufacturing facility in Williamsport, Maryland.

Who:

• Rust-Oleum Corporation. Its paint manufacturing facility in Williamsport, MD has been in operation since 1978. It manufactures paints primarily contained in aerosol cans. The facility uses a variety of mills and tanks to mix, grind, and thin the types of paints it generates.
• EPA is the government agency that enforces the federal regulations of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). Learn more about RCRA.  EPA contact: R3press@epa.gov
• Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) is the state agency that enforces the federal regulations of RCRA within Maryland and any regulations of the MDE that are more stringent and more broad than those of EPA. Read more about state authorization under RCRA.

What:

• Inspectors from the EPA and the MDE identified numerous monitoring, record-keeping and hazardous-waste storage violations during an inspection.
• “To our knowledge, there were no releases of hazardous waste (that) could threaten human health or the environment,” a spokesman for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday in an email. The regulations in question “are preventative and enforced to prevent releases of hazardous waste.”
• Under terms of the settlement, Rust-Oleum will pay a $168,000 penalty, and has ensured EPA it will properly contain and manage hazardous waste in the future. The settlement reflects the company’s compliance efforts, and its cooperation in the investigation. As part of the settlement, Rust-Oleum has not admitted liability for the alleged violations, but has certified its compliance with RCRA requirements.

Where:

• RUST-OLEUM WORLD HEADQUARTERS: Rust-Oleum Corporation / 11 Hawthorn Parkway / Vernon Hills, IL 60061
• Rust-Oleum – Williamsport, MD: 16410 Industrial Ln / Williamsport, MD 21795

When:

• Announced: December 4, 2018
• No other relevant dates were provided.

Why:

• Inspectors from EPA and the Maryland Department of Environment identified numerous monitoring, record keeping and hazardous waste storage violations during an inspection.

How:

• RCRA is designed to protect public health and the environment, and avoid long and extensive cleanups, by requiring the safe, environmentally sound storage and disposal of hazardous waste.
• Both EPA and states have the authority to enforce the regulations codified under RCRA and to issue fines for non-compliance.
• For more information about EPA’s hazardous waste program, visit https://www.epa.gov/hw

Conclusion:

The news release is short on information about the nature of the violations. No information is provided other than, “… numerous monitoring, record keeping and hazardous waste storage violations…” It is not uncommon that where there is one RCRA violation there are many more. One common cause of RCRA violations and a source of many more is a lack of Hazardous Waste Personnel Training (aka: RCRA Training). All employees who work with or around hazardous waste must receive some form of training. The amount, type, and frequency of training depends upon a facility’s hazardous waste generator status.